Erm Trunks we have a problem.....................
by Arraye
Summary: A serious take on the problems the Dbz crew face with Funimation from the POV of Trunks


Erm Trunks; we have a problem ****

Erm Trunks; we have a problem!

Disclaimer; as usual the Dbz characters do not belong to me; however the plot does; no matter how bizarre.

Author; Arraye

Summary; a serious take on the actors problems with Funimation.

The clock chimed again; and he had to shake the urge to smash it to pieces. He glanced at the pile of magazines on the mahogany table in front of him; _rubbish as_ _usual, tabloids no one would read_; although the thought occurred to him that it was probable the rest of the crew couldn't read them if they wanted to. _The crew…things_ hadn't gone well between them lately; in fact things had been so bad filming had been postponed. 

On film they were close; inseparable; in reality they couldn't be further apart. He was friends with a few of them………Krillin, Goku, Gohan………..the rest he pretty much avoided. Although they didn't all get along things hadn't been too bad……..not great; but bearable. The situation lately though…………*He sighed.* _Would they ever call him? Was this their unique kind of punishment? Make him wait until he went crazy? _

Talking with some of the cast he had told of his worries over this meeting……..they pretty much dismissed any worries he had. Krillin had said that he was "invaluable", and when he had said that he thought he might be fired……..Krillin had laughed……

"You! FIRED! Get serious………………they need you; they can't fire you…….I mean, well look", he gestured towards the stacks of fan mail he received. He had blushed at that time. "Fire you!?! There would be several thousands of girls killing themselves!"

As much as he hated to admit it Krillin had been right………….unfortunately. Although he loved the show……..the money…………..he was beginning to wonder if it would be better/easier if he left.

At first the attention he received (mainly from the opposite sex) had been flattering. He had enjoyed being able to pretty much go out with any girl he wanted. But the novelty soon wore off; he was stalked everywhere he went. The girls that chased after him were more formidable opponents than Cell or Frieza ever could be. He was fed up of being mugged wherever he went. Last week had been particularly bad. He had been brave enough that day to venture out to buy some fast food (he had never liked the idea of having bodyguards accompanying him). Things had gone fine until he had walked out of the store, they had jumped on him…..pulling, tearing,ripping. Grabbing pieces of his clothing, his food……one of them even stole his shoe. He had been forced to hobble back to his apartment with one shoe. That night; had symbolised a downward spiral; he was a prisoner in his own home……for the first time he had felt scared, and alone. He wasn't the only one who received this treatment; Goku and Vegeta both got the same thing. Considering this; it probably wasn't surprising that Vegeta was such a jerk. No acting was really needed for his part; in fact it was a breath of fresh air compared to his real personality. If it was possible he was much, much worse than his character.

He wondered if he was like his character; a hero…a nice guy. He shook his head; he doubted it; the guy was **perfect**, in fact **too perfect**…….he was beginning to resent the character he played due to the fact that it meant people expected him to be something he wasn't. He could never be the real Trunks (or the screen Trunks, he had problems disassociating between the two lately). HELL! He didn't want to be! Perhaps this was the cause of his recent rebellion. Funimation was determined to bleed his character dry……….they kept making him, more and more…………..well the best word he could think of was a goody-goody. He hated the fact that his character seemed to be become less real; what about anger, negative points! He had begged Funimation to let him be a bit more……..well just anything away from what he was becoming. But he didn't matter; it was all the fans, the fans…… The girls loved him; so he had to have more episodes shirtless. He was jibbed a lot by the other cast for this. Being shirtless didn't bother him; it was what it symbolised that really angered him. 

And then, Pan. Now he had nothing against Pan, she was a sweet kid, she could hold her own and she was a good friend………..it was just that he wasn't interested, not in that way. Fans however had made their own interpretation, apparently they were "meant for each other" and he was "deeply in love with her", well that was news to him. The amount of fan sites dedicated to them, disturbed him and it got to the point where he began to wonder exactly how he did feel. Of course the whole situation seemed perfect for Funimation, here was a guaranteed way to get more viewers, especially those female viewers which in comparison to the male percentage had been seriously lacking.

He had been **informed** that they were going to introduce a romantic theme into the series; he didn't have to guess who it was going to include. Pan had been thrilled; which only confirmed his suspicions that she had a crush on him. 

Well that was it…….the breaking point, he wasn't going to take it. He REFUSED, refused and refused again……….of course it was inevitable that Pan's feelings would be hurt, but there was no way he was going to encourage this……..NO WAY!

When that hadn't worked he had rebelled; the best way he knew how. He guffed lines, didn't learn them, didn't turn up. Funimation didn't take it well; but then neither did the rest of the cast. The more he rebelled the more alienated he became. Tension had been evident between them before this; but his rebellion had made it ten times worse. Division was so bad; Goku wasn't speaking to Krillin; his best friend.

The saiyans were on one side, the humans on the other. The main argument was favouritism………….the fact that the saiyans were generally better treated then the rest. This argument had been going on for a while though, on and off continuously. The last time it had been raised was because someone had given away that the saiyans were receiving higher pay. None of the humans had taken it well; particularly Krillin. Out of everyone he had to play the most degrading role…………..a bald monk who couldn't get a girl if his life depended on it, a guy who without fail got beaten into a pulp every episode. Krillin being the guy he was though carried on, because he liked the fact that despite all this his character was portrayed as a really, nice sweet guy. Thinking about it he is the only one of us that is really close, personality wise to his character. He has a heart of gold; to such an extent that we nicknamed him M.N.G (Mr Nice Guy), I think Goku started that by putting it on his jacket. Anyway his character over the past months had gone through renovations. The lines he got were terrible………Mondo cool? they were making him out to be some guy lost in time. Still he did it although it was obvious he was unhappy with the direction things were taking. 

Bulma also wasn't thrilled…..her character had gone through several voice changes, as well as personality changes from a smart girl to a dumb airhead. Probably the thing that upset her the most though was the storyline that involved her being with Vegeta. We all felt sorry for her; no one wanted to spend excess time with the guy. They couldn't stand each other.

To be honest I think she preferred to be with Krillin; although she would never admit it. I swear one day I heard her suggesting that sort of idea to the producers. Of course they refused. " Krillin? That would change his image, upset the fans"……._yeah more like it would upset their pockets._ Ironically despite the fact that in early episodes it was indicated Krillin had a crush on Bulma; it was actually the other way round. To Bulma I guess it must have seemed like personal torment; they were using her feelings and playing with them. I think the final blow was the addition of 18.

Tall, thin, stunning……she definitely turned a few heads that day she walked into the studio. Her arrival signalled many more problems to come. Although Bulma seemed to try to keep her feelings under control the tension between the two was always evident after filming. They disagreed about everything. And although it seemed that Bulma still held a torch for Krillin it also began to be apparent that Krillin was attracted to 18 and vice versa. Now I like Bulma, but even I have to say that she has a strong personality and when she wants something she will not stop until she gets it, no matter how many people she has to step on along the way.

And of course with the arrival of 18 Bulma suddenly began to hate her character. Here was 18 presented as a beautiful but deadly woman, who could hold her own and Bulma was a smart, loud-mouthed woman who always stood on the sidelines. She especially rebelled against scenes between 18 and Krillin, I won't tell you how many takes it took us to get that kiss scene in the battle. She kept barging in, making noises………I felt sorry for her………but she was beginning to annoy me.

Anyway; things between us deteriorated and the cast began to fall apart. We really began to not stand each other……take Goku for instance now while he's not as dumb as he's made out………he's not smart and that be really frustrating when you are trying to having a meaningful conversation. Although by the same token he gets fed up of people talking to him and treating him like an idiot.

Well, here I am waiting to see what they say……to me……..to the rest of the cast. Thinking about it Krillin's comments bother me, it occurs to me I want to be fired, I'm fed up of being………………………………………..

"Mr Trunks"

I stupidly look behind myself……maybe Goku's rubbing off on me.

"This way please."

I follow her into a room and sit down surrounded on all sides by funimation representatives and directors. Despite the tense situation and crisis that is occurring in the studio I realise they are beaming; every one of them. I would kill to know what they know at the moment.

One of them leans forward and I brace myself for the words that are bound to follow…………………………………………………………………………….

"Erm, Trunks…..we have a problem……"

The end

Hmmm kinda lost the plot there but hey what ya think? It's probably one of the few fics that tries to be serious about the criticisms thrown at Funimation. Also I noticed I went from third person to first person, but its not too bad.

Well do ya want more? A sequel? A story on the meeting with the directors?  


Well review and tell me!

Oh and any misspelling of characters, or names I apologise for…..its just there are so many different version out there!

Please don't be hard on me! 


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